Abstract
Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and associated complications are on the rise in many low- and middle-income countries where they are becoming major contributors to rising morbidity and mortality. Since the launch of Nigeria's NCD strategic control plan, there have been few studies aimed at determining the level of progress made in the implementation of the policy. This study aimed to assess the capacity and readiness of primary healthcare facilities (PHCs) to prevent and manage NCDs.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey study of twenty primary healthcare facilities in four local government areas of Borno State (Konduga, Jere, Maiduguri, Mafa). The facilities were visited, and data was obtained from personnel interviews, and direct observation of equipment and services provided using the WHO-SARA tool. Oral interviews were carried out with the most senior administrative staff (Medical officer/nurse) who provided details of personnel, equipment, and services before physical verification. The data was entered into SPSS version 21 for descriptive statistics and results were expressed using descriptive statistics.
Results: The findings showed that 5.7% of all consultations were related to NCDs of which cardiovascular diseases accounted for 57.1% while diabetes mellitus (29.5%) and asthma (13.4 %.) were the most encountered. The capacity and readiness to provide NCD management services was generally poor. Capacity and readiness scores include equipment (64.6%), services (42.8%), laboratory tests (49.2%), referral of patients (47.7%) and medicine availability (33.9%). Human resources largely included community health workers (100%) and nurses (80%). Physicians and pharmacists were only found in 30% of facilities surveyed. The overall readiness scores found in this study (39.9%) is very low indicating a clear inability to provide quality NCD management services.
Conclusion: The capacity of facilities in terms of human resources, equipment, laboratory services and referrals was generally low. The same was observed with readiness to manage cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and asthma. This is a reminder that the primary healthcare facilities are currently ill-prepared to control and manage the emerging NCD pandemic.
Keywords: Capacity, Readiness, Non-communicable diseases, Primary healthcare, Preparedness